Marketing Cloud Engagement: Journey Builder - Workarounds and Considerations for Avoiding Late-Night Sends with Einstein STO

To use Einstein STO in Journey Builder while preventing late-night sends, try one of the following methods:

1. Combine a Wait Activity with STO "Time Frame" Configuration:
This method involves adjusting when subscribers proceed to the STO activity and the time window STO analyzes.

• Step 1: Place a Wait Activity Place a Wait activity before the Einstein STO activity. Configure it so that subscribers proceed to the STO activity in bulk at a specific time (e.g., 9:00 AM on weekdays).
• Step 2: Adjust the STO "Time Frame" Next, adjust the "Time Frame" (analysis period) within the Einstein STO activity itself. For example, if you configured Step 1 for subscribers to enter the STO activity at 9:00 AM, set the "Time Frame" to "9 hours." This allows Einstein STO to primarily analyze engagement data between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM, ensuring contacts can exit the STO activity within this defined period after the analysis.

2. Use the "Send Throttling" Feature in the Email Send Activity:
In the Email Send activity placed after the Einstein STO activity, navigate to "Delivery Options" and enable the "Delivery Window" feature. Set the allowed sending window (e.g., from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM). If this option is not visible on your screen, enable it by following the instructions here:

Configure Send Throttling


Note:
Regardless of which workaround you implement, please be aware of the following points:

• Processing Time and Potential Delays: There is an internal system processing time from when a contact reaches an Email Send activity in Journey Builder until the email is actually composed and sent. Especially when sending large volumes of emails, messages may queue on the Marketing Cloud Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) for extended periods before sending.
• Impact of Retry Process: If an email cannot be delivered temporarily due to issues on the receiving server, the MTA will attempt to resend it at 15-minute intervals during the configured retry period (default is 72 hours). It is possible for an email to be successfully delivered late at night as a result of this retry process.

*The STO activity is a type of wait activity and does not perform the delivery itself. The actual delivery is handled by the subsequent email sending activity.